Hey, Mama Rock Me

Alfrun had left pack lands after she'd recovered sufficiently from the use of the psychedelics - she was somewhat used to their effects, and so they were somewhat less effective on her anyway, so it took less time than it could have. She solicitously left a large bowl of water where Jupiter could easily find it to aid his own recovery, and left a warm bowl of stew packed in sand to keep it warm until he felt like eating. It might be more appealing than leaving a raw rabbit sitting waiting. Her duties to her husband discharged to her own satisfaction - though undoubtedly to his own discomfort when he eventually discovered them - she took Tanken and the crystal she'd found while gutting the rabbit with her to the river to bathe, to rinse the blood from her fur.

She was satisfied she had broken Jupiter's curse to the best of her abilities, and hoped that her aging sides would soon swell with pups from him, but as much as she wanted to sit and daydream about it like a silly girl, there was more trouble in the world than simply her failure to get with pup by her husband. She turned the crystal over and over in her paws as she lay in what was left of the weak winter sun in its abnormal pattern. The crystal's appearance had clearly been a sign, and she had attributed it to the Aesir's approval of her and Jupiter. But... she turned her head to stare hard at the rock next to her. More crystals growing on its surface, nearly identical to the one that had appeared before. These stirred a strange feeling within her, as though she were looking at something that lived and breathed rather than a rock. She ran a paw gently down the side of a new crystal thoughtfully, but hissed quietly when a sharp corner gashed her paw.

Pulling the bleeding limb back to her, she licked the wound while she settled in to meditate on what they could possibly mean.